Loud sound before Teruntum Complex wall collapsed - witness

"I heard a loud sound followed by a flood of water. I panicked, picked up my child and ran away from the sales tent," said car saleswoman Tuan Nur Aisyah Tuan Mohd Nor.

She was among the witnesses who faced anxious moments when a wall of the Teruntum Complex in Jalan Mahkota-Seri Kuantan here, collapsed after a water tank on the fourth floor burst at about 1pm today.

Tuan Nur Aisyah, 32, said her sales tent was located about 80 metres from the complex, enabling her to see clearly the stone wall falling on several cars and motorcycles parked in the nearby parking area.

Meanwhile, one of the victims, Sheikh Mohd Hanfi Sheikh Ali, 50, said he and his wife, Norziah Abdul Ghafar, 51, were injured in the knees, elbows and palms when they fell while running to avoid falling rubbles.

He said that they were walking through the back of the complex to head to a nearby shopping mall when he heard sounds of blasting like an explosion during the incident.

"Luckily I saw the falling wall and water pouring in our direction...enabling my wife and I to run and avoid being hit. . but my motorcycle which I parked there was badly damaged by falling bricks.

"Anyway, I'm thankful, as lives are more important, I regard it as already the end of the road for the motorcycle to us but I will still lodge a police report on this incident," he said.

It was learnt that the incident slightly injured four people while four cars and at least 10 motorcycles were damaged by debris and rubbles from the building.

Kuantan Fire and Rescue Station (Operations) chief Bakhtiar Iskandar Mohamad said they received information on the incident at 1pm from the public.

"A fire engine with 11 firemen rushed to the scene. There were also police and the Civil Defence Force (APM) who also helped to cordon off the scene and moved the vehicles involved," he said.

Meanwhile, the manager of the complex, Mohd Zaid Harun said that the complex would be closed temporarily starting today.

"The complex will only be opened after receiving the approval from the Public Works Department (JKR)," he said, adding that the 21-storey complex was opened in January 1980.

-- BERNAMA